(Not So) Fixed Points
by Nehszriah
Summary: Very often the past cannot be rewritten, but sometimes, you find a loophole. [O'Bennett fix-it fic containing slight Whouffaldi]


A/N: So I was a bit upset about the OTPalooza that was _Under the Lake_ / _Before the Flood_ denied me a 3/3 record of cute boys and their tiny, take-charge girlfriends, meaning I wrote fix-it fic so O'Bennett happened.

* * *

(Not So) Fixed Points

Sometimes, the past can be rewritten. Many things are fixed moments, what are things that have to happen, because they shape the entire future so egregiously that changing them can end up having disastrous effects. Wars, genocides, natural disasters, pandemics… all horrid, cold-hearted things that hurt to leave alone when one is a time traveler… yet sometimes… sometimes there are things one can do to cheat. Sometimes there are things one can do to make that past, as grim and horrid as it may be, just a tiny bit brighter. You can make it just a little better, with something as simple as a TARDIS and reckless abandon for the rules.

* * *

"So the ghost-you was just a hologram… it was a pretty convincing one if you ask me," Clara said, walking around the TARDIS console. She glanced across the room at the Doctor, who was currently sitting at his chair, reading.

"Yeah, a bit ingenious, if I do say so," he replied. He idly flipped the page and puffed out his chest, proud of himself. "Thought it was a real electromagnetic spectre—now Lunn I expected but you and Cass, I'm surprised at the two of you."

"I'm surprised at _you_ , to be honest," she said. Leaning on the console, she traced her fingers around the levers and whatzits, pensive. "You say you have a duty of care, that you're just a bloke in a box but one that helps wherever he can along the way."

"Yeah, and…?"

"If she died in the past, then why wasn't O'Donnell's ghost there the whole time, along with Prentis?"

The Doctor paused, closed his book, and stood with a flourish. "That's _right_ , Clara Oswald! This is why I've got you! This," he hopped down the stairs and poked her nose, "is why we're such a good team."

"Even superior Time Lord brains have trouble figuring out all the kinks in a plan," she laughed. She watched as he punched the coordinates into the TARDIS and the ship whipped them out of the time vortex.

The pair popped out of the TARDIS and quickly scanned the area. They were in the military town, with no one in sight. "Alright," the Doctor said, "let's get going before someone sees us."

After dodging the Fisher King as he stalked around, the Doctor and Clara found where O'Donnell was laying in the abandoned building. She hadn't moved since he last saw her, and one press of a button on the sonic sunglasses confirmed his suspicion.

"She's alive, but barely," he informed Clara. "If we don't get her to the TARDIS's medical bay quickly, she might die anyhow."

"If we don't get to the TARDIS quickly, _we'll_ die in that flood!" Clara said. She carefully lifted O'Donnell's feet as the Doctor got her shoulders. They then hurried back towards their ship, hoping to make it in time. "This means we need to figure out her ghost too…"

"Already done—advanced holographics, like a mental projection. It'll be able to manipulate things like the electromagnetic spectres could. Won't take too much work."

Clara chuckled as she kicked open the TARDIS door and walked in backwards. "Oh, I do love it when you're clever."

* * *

"Aren't you going to pack up?" Lunn wondered. He stood halfway between the corridor and the mess hall, watching Bennett as he sat with a coffee. The other man had been incredibly quiet since the entire ordeal with the ghosts cost them half the crew and the mission's objective, and he couldn't help but notice.

"I will, in a minute," Bennett replied. "I just… I'm not sure about what to do now. O'Donnell… she was energetic, passionate, threw herself at everything she did, every aspect of her life…"

"…and you wanted to be one of those," Lunn finished. Cautiously, he entered the room and walked over to the table Bennett was sitting at, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's like in secondary school, when you've met who you _know_ is the love of your life, and are so enamored that you can't tell it's your best friend she's after."

"I… didn't have anything like that," Bennett admitted quietly. "I've always watched from afar, never acted. It's always felt like I was pressuring a girl when I told her how I felt, so I just sort of learned to stay back, let her make the first move. Now I'm beginning to wonder what I should do."

A knock on the wall disrupted them and they turned to see Cass standing in the doorway. _What's taking so long?_ she signed.

 _Bennett's grieving_.

She paused, frowning, before giving a little nod. _Then let him. The ship won't come for us until tomorrow._

"What she say?" Bennett asked.

"Just wanted to know what we were up to," Lunn translated. He was about to continue when a familiar wheeze began to echo through the room, alerting them that the TARDIS was reappearing. The ship phased into sight, with the Doctor popping out as soon as the craft was stable.

"Oh good, you're still here," he said, glancing around the room. He waved at Cass, exaggerating a grin for her, before turning to the men. "Okay, I'm here to tie up a couple of loose ends."

"Do it and leave, please," Bennett muttered, going back to his coffee. Lunn just kept on signing for Cass, waiting for her to respond as she approached them.

"What loose ends?" he asked for her. "Didn't you do what you could before you left?"

"Not entirely," he explained. "You, you know about me so you know about time travel, so do you know about fixed points?"

"Yeah, they're moments in time that have to happen, that you can't stop no matter what," Lunn replied, signing all the while. "Vesuvius, Lake Silencio, meeting Marco Polo… but why do we need to know that?"

"…because sometimes moments in times aren't fixed points, just points having gone into shock," the Doctor said. He looked over his shoulder at the open TARDIS door and O'Donnell stepped out, alive and well. Cass and Lunn both stood silently, jaws agape, though Bennett still had his back turned. "If you take a look at the Faraday cage, there will conveniently be one less electromagnetic spectre than originally counted."

"He lied about the TARDIS not being able to penetrate it; just wanted us to feel as safe as possible there," O'Donnell giggled. "He made one of me too, but with a bit of extra stuff so I could take Clara's phone. It was so cool!"

At the sound of her voice, Bennett's eyes went wide. He put down his coffee and stood, turning around so that he could see O'Donnell. She approached her crewmates happily, though stopped when she noticed Bennett.

"Are you crying?"

"Yes, and I'm sorry," he replied.

"Sorry for what?"

"For not doing this sooner." He took the step forward to eliminate the space between them and bent down, grabbing O'Donnell's face and kissing her. The moment Bennett stopped he brought her in for a hug, holding her tight against his chest. "I lost you."

"No you didn't; I'm right here, you idiot," she said shakily, exhaling into his coat.

"You were in my arms… I felt your last breath."

"You felt my body going into shock; it was almost my last breath, so you weren't that far off." She put her arms around his middle and hugged him back.

"Right, yeah, this is where I take my leave," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes and sauntering off to the TARDIS. He closed the door behind him and saw Clara leaning on the console, smirking at him cheekily.

"All's well that ends well?" she asked. As he approached her, she lifted her weight from the flight module and opened her arms. She folded them around his neck, with him putting his hands on her waist, grinning.

"Back to the same old-same old," he replied. "The Doctor and Clara Oswald, in the TARDIS."

"Now let's go have an adventure, save a planet, run for our lives."

"Yes, ma'am."


End file.
